I love the idea of Freedom Technology Christmas, and so in the spirit of FTC, I want to promote and encourage the use of open source software as a means for black folks to further empower themselves technologically, intellectually, and creatively. When I first began dabbling in the open source world, almost ten years ago, you had to be fairly tech savvy to be able to get anything done. If you tried to run the Linux operating system on your computer, chances were you wouldn’t even be able to get the modem to work. This is no longer the case. The open source movement has grown up, and the offerings and opportunities are now immense. Now that major computer manufactures such as Dell are offering computers with Ubuntu Linux pre-installed, it is clear that open source software is a viable option for folks that aren’t tech specialists.So, what is open source software? Open source software is software that is built around a community model, rather than the proprietary model of companies like Microsoft or Apple. Communities build up around certain projects and work together to create the best software possible. The software is usually free, not only cost-wise, but also in what you can do with it. Unlike, say, your version of Windows XP, you can modify Linux to suit your needs and then give it away to anyone you want without ever facing legal penalties. For us bloggers, the most well-known open source software is most definitely WordPress. In general, Firefox is probably the most popular open source application out there.
I won’t get too deep into why I believe that open source software is a superior model to proprietary software and instead get down to the nitty gritty of why I believe that promoting and encouraging the use of open source software goes hand in hand with Freedom Technology Christmas.
It’s all about cost. Looking to upgrade your computer to Vista?
Interested in purchasing Photoshop so you can flex those creative muscles? Think you need Microsoft Office for your database or spreadsheet needs? Well, let’s break it down with a few comparisons between proprietary software and their open source equivalents .
Cost of Microsoft Vista Home Premium at Amazon: $219.99 Cost of Ubuntu Linux: $0
Cost of Adobe Photoshop CS3 at Amazon: $619.99 Cost of Gimp: $0
Cost of Microsoft Office Standard 2007 at Amazon: $324.99 Cost of Open Office: $0
Cost of Adobe Dreamweaver CS3 at Amazon: 398.99 Cost of Nvu: $0
With the exception of Nvu, these are all programs that I use on a regular basis and I can assure you that they are top notch. They are also designed to be compatible with the Windows world. So, for instance, you can open .doc files with Open Office and even save files as .doc, so you can still work with people using Windows software.
Now, I understand how some may be hesitant to switch to a new operating system such as Linux, but I see no reason why the open source productivity and creativity based software shouldn’t be embraced by Afrospear members. Everything we need to further our intellectual, creative, and activist lives is out there, and folks like myself are working hard to ensure that it will always be available to anyone that wants it, without having to pay out the ass to have it.
So, I encourage all Afrospear folk to consider looking into open source/free software as a means to further empower ourselves. This is an instance where we can take Francis’ idea a step further. Rather than spending our money *after* the holiday season, in this area, we can not spend our money at all!
Peace,
afrospear.wordpress.com 
You would still have to be a little more technical savvy to use Linux.
“You would still have to be a little more technical savvy to use Linux.”
I’m not so sure any more. Of course, since I fall on the tech savvy side of things, I may be the wrong person to gauge. It seems to me, though, that the biggest hurdle to using Linux nowadays would be learning how to do things differently than you’re accustomed to–no different than switching from Windows to OSX. There’s always going to be a learning curve.
My purpose here, however, is not to convince the Afrospear to switch over to Linux en masse (although that would be nice 🙂 ) but rather to draw attention to the world of open source productivity software out there that we can be using to further our goals.
I champion the movement towards open source. And I like the cost of it! 😉 My only question would be when communicating and/or sending documents to non-open source folks would they have difficulty opening up attachments? And as you’ve written, is there an open source equivalent to every non-open source program, e.g. Final Cut Pro; Dreamweaver, etc.?
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Hi, Jamiah,
Yeah, there is pretty much an open source equivalent to any program out there. I can’t speak to whether or not they are all as good as their commercial equivalents, but in many cases they are, or are getting close. Check out the Open Source Alternative site for a good list of the best open source alternatives out there. For instance, alternatives to Final Cut Pro.
As for communicating with non-open source folks, there’s usually not that much of a problem. An .mp4 file or a .pdf file is the same regardless of the program that created it, and when there is a conflict in formats, a high quality program should allow you to save to a windows format. So, even though Open Office uses the .odt format, you can open a .doc file with it and save your documents as .doc files as well. When handling complex documents with a lot of fancy formatting and such, things can get lost in the translation, but for the most part it all works well.
This is so cool to see more and more black bloggers talk about the free software and open source movements.
I always try to put it out there that our people need not have to be stuck in the commercial, closed source world of Windoze and Macintosh (with is just Unix under the hood.) I’ve worked with Linux of and on when you really did have to work under the hood more in the early ’00s, then Fedora, Debian, and Ubuntu came and changed all that. Really, the Linux community of developers who focused more on the desktop environments like Gnome and KDE has more to do with Linux as a whole becoming more ‘friendlier’ for Linux newbies and computer newbies in general.
I worked with Fedora Core 4 up until a year ago, then started working with Ubuntu http://brotherkomrade.net/index.php?blogid=1&archive=2007-07&catid=1 . There are some things you still have to do under the hood; especially if your hardware is new (64-bit processor) to get some apps to work, but hey, it was like that in the 90s for Windoze.
Hi Kevin,
you might have heard about the Open CD Project, collecting Open Source software for Windows. The project now is dead, but on its behalf is born The OpenDisc project that apparently come just from the same ‘source’.
Brotherkomrade – Thanks. I agree. It’s great to see more black bloggers interested in the free and open source movements. Man, I kinda miss those old days, though. The geek enthusiast in me still loves the command line. 🙂 But yeah, you couldn’t give a computer with Linux on it to your grandmoms.
Have you checked out Ubuntu 7.10 yet? It’s slick!
Roberto – Oh yeah, I’ve got a few Open CD discs. I rarely use Windows any more, and when I do it’s on a virtual machine, but they were quite handy back in the day.
Using most Open Source applications is in the realm of most computer users today. Using LINUX still takes a little more computer savvy but Ubuntu 7.10 is closing the gap. Also for Freedom Technology Christmas, you can provide training on using the software or device as a gift. How many people do you know how can not program numbers into their cell phone..
Cliff
I absolutely LOVE open source software. I don’t use any microsoft products. open source is lightyears ahead of windows. I highlyy reccomend open office.
Gina from WAOD